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I recently traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona, to lead a weekend of speed training with a variety of athletes, most of them lacrosse players. I planted seeds with those kids, encouraging them to spend their time away from their sport building athleticism. I explained that athleticism has nothing to do with the skills of a particular sport: it’s power, speed, and explosiveness. Athleticism is—in the words of Mike Whiteman—”the ability to lift heavy, sprint fast, jump high, and jump far, transforming athletes into apex predators.”

While coaching in 100-degree weather there in the desert, several guys on my track team back in Illinois practiced on a beautiful 40-something degree day. Others had the day off. Four were set to run Saturday night at the Palatine Distance Night. Around noon on Saturday, I got a text from one of those athletes with the off-day, Mason Eskridge. Mason had shown up at the track, on his own, to work on block starts with his teammate Lavell Patterson. Mason and Lavell are seniors—my two fastest sprinters.

Accompanying the photo above, Mason’s text simply read: “Me and Lavell working while you’re out of town” (followed by three emojis: cat, lightning bolt, lightning bolt).

“So proud of you guys!” I replied. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the text and this beautiful picture.

As coaches, teachers, and parents, we work and work and work. We make the rules; we enforce the rules. We provide motivation. We give and give and give and feel good about our sacrifices. We help kids to set goals and then drive them to accomplish those goals. Then, however, we tend to complain that kids are not self-motivated or self-driven and lack maturity.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your athletes or your own kids is to step back and let them build their own house. Sometimes it is important to find ways to not be so indispensable, says @pntrack. Share on X

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your athletes or your own kids is to step back and let them build their own house. Sometimes it is important to find ways to not be so indispensable. Maybe our goal as coaches, teachers, and parents is to teach ourselves out of a job.

Flashback: April 19, 2021

After missing the 2020 season, our first meet of 2021 was cold, wet, and miserable. Our football players were in their final week of the season and didn’t attend this meet at Minooka High School. We only took 14 sprinters—11 of our 14 cats were running in their FIRST-EVER track meet. Our relay teams showed up without batons. Some guys reported to their race forgetting their spikes. In the fast heat of the 100m, the gun went off six times before my guys figured out that the race had been recalled. One guy ran with his uniform on backward.

When my son, Alec, heard about this comedy of errors, he suggested I might have to leave my camera at home and coach a little more this year.

Alec always makes me think. I love photographing track meets—I can make meets look better (much better) than they really are, and great pictures are central to the promotion of my track program.

Aside from documenting the meets and promoting the program, there’s another reason I take pictures—I want to send the message to my athletes that they are responsible for themselves. I coach and prepare them during the week. I’m there to help at meets—but I’m not responsible for their batons, their blocks, their spikes, or putting their uniform on correctly. They are responsible for warming up, achieving one perfect handoff, picking up their hip numbers, and reporting to their race at the right time. And, of course, they are ultimately responsible for their own performance.

I want them to learn to build their own house. Me playing photographer speaks loud and clear to them: You own it.

A Few Sentences on Balancing Parenthood and Coaching

One weekday, we had a meet at Oswego High School, and our assistant coach, Andy Derks, told me he would be late to the meet. His daughter, Maddie, had her first middle school cross country meet the same day, and he wasn’t going to miss it. Not only did this send a fantastic message to Maddie about her father’s priorities, this also spoke volumes to our distance crew. You see, Andy Derks has done the work to make his athletes less needy and more self-sufficient—not only could Andy step away from his D-Crew for the first hour of a meet, he could step away for a month.

His athletes have learned to build their own house.

My Parenting

As I mentioned previously, coaching is synonymous with teaching and almost synonymous with parenting. (You can choose your team; you can’t choose your kids. And, your athletes graduate…but your kids are yours forever!)

Teaching, coaching two to three sports, and raising four kids will make you prioritize as a parent. (I wrote about survival tips for parenting and coaching a few years ago here.) While it sends an important message to your kids when you make a point of seeing them compete as Andy did, attending EVERY activity is impossible. Attempting to attend every activity would ruin your life (and may not be so good for your kid, either).

You see, as important as it is to be there for your kid, it’s equally as important to not be there.

You see, as important as it is to be there for your kid, it’s equally as important to not be there, says @pntrack. Share on X

Two stories come to mind:

1. Back in 2004, my son Troy was one of the top-ranked seventh-grade hurdlers in the Harrisburg (IL) area. I had my own track meet and could not attend his Regional meet on May 6. Troy hit a hurdle, fell, and broke his arm. My wife, Jill, was there and took care of business. The next year, on May 6, I attended Troy’s eighth-grade Regional meet. Troy was favored to win the race but hit a hurdle, fell, and broke his arm. Again. Same day, same race, same arm. I literally got sick to my stomach. This time, I took care of business. (And, two years later, bribed with a pug puppy, Troy resumed hurdling).
2. As a junior at Harrisburg, my son Alec was a great basketball player. I think I saw all his games. At Christmas, he was averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds before quitting the team due to bizarre circumstances beyond his control.

The next season, playing at Franklin, Alec entered the basketball season with a football injury (a snapped tendon in his finger). Before his first game, he dislocated his shoulder. With everyone returning, Franklin went out to a 20-0 start and was ranked No. 1 in Tennessee. During the first half of the season, Alec came off the bench and never looked like his old self. It was hard for me to watch, and eventually my wife and I decided that it might be best for us to miss a few games.

On a Friday night, Franklin played at their rival, Brentwood. Alec hadn’t scored in the previous game, and my wife and I didn’t make the trip to Brentwood. The game happened to be televised in the Nashville area, and Franklin’s starting center sprained his ankle early in the game. Alec replaced him and, within seconds, stole a ball and turned it into a thunderous dunk at the other end. I think I jumped as high as the ceiling in our small living room. Alec went on to play like his old self for the rest of the season, arguably the team’s best player through that stretch.

I missed Troy’s first broken arm in 2004 and Alec’s incredible dunk in 2005. Would my attendance at either of those events have altered the outcome? Do Troy and Alec look back at those events wishing I would have been there?

I think not.

My Own Racing Days

My parents had four kids, and my father coached multiple sports.

As a seventh grader, I was a tall kid but the slowest guy on my track team. In my first meet, I was listed as seventh out of seven to run the 440. More than 20 kids were thrown into the race on a cinder track in Streator, Illinois. I ran as fast as I could. I remember some of my teammates laughing at me out in the lead. The last segment of the race hurt like hell, but I came in fourth, running 67.1 (the second best on our team).

My parents were not at the meet, and I’ll never forget telling my dad what had happened. I told him the whole story though the car window before getting in. Their absence didn’t detract from the feeling of that race—in fact, doing it on my own, sharing it in my own words…I think that enhanced the experience.

Total Absence

My dad, Don, was born in a tent. One of five children; raised by working-poor parents. He lived in government housing, and to say that sports became the focus of his life is like saying that fish become fond of water.

Encouragement came by way of a Hall of Fame coach Gay Kintner of Stephen Decatur High School. In 1951, Kintner gave my dad a basketball and told him, “Holler, wear this thing out. You are going to be one of my great ones.”

My dad went on to play college basketball and baseball at Millikin University. How many games did Don Holler’s dad attend? Zero. Not one, not at any level. Zero. (My grandmother attended just one high school game, and as luck would have it, my dad got sick before the game and didn’t play.)

Not only did my grandfather not attend any of my dad’s games, he actively campaigned for my dad to quit sports and get a job, going so far as to hide my dad’s ball glove one time on the day of a game.

Even in the absence of any encouragement from his parents, my father still loved sports.

The inflection point for my father came from his high school basketball coach, who gave him a basketball, encouraged him to play, and told him he could be great. Gay Kintner told my dad to build his own house. And he did: Don Holler is now in three Halls of Fame (Millikin University, Aurora University, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association).

After his playing days were done, he spent the next 47 years being Gay Kintner to hundreds of athletes.

Be There, but Also Don’t Be There

Coaches, teachers, and parents have a strange job. We must be there for our kids. We must give them guidance and instruction. We must encourage the good, discourage the bad, and set an example.

Then we must step away and let them learn to fly.

If we’re doing it right, even when we’re 1,500 miles away in the desert or just at a different event closer to home, we will still always be there—even when we are not.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

One of the biggest roadblocks to proper speed development is an injury. Athletes need to stay healthy (and happy) in order to progress towards faster times and better outcomes in their sport. Over 50 percent of athletes report playing a sport while injured,¹ and a common nagging injury that athletes deal with is plantar fasciitis. This pain in the foot needs a better solution than what we now have because over a million patient visits each year are due to plantar fasciitis.² An athlete can’t afford to lose precious training and playing time to this issue for which, I believe, we consistently look for answers in the wrong places.

One of the biggest roadblocks to proper speed development is an injury, says @TomBroback. Share on X

As with many injuries, plantar fasciitis is a condition caused by great amounts of stress repeatedly applied to an area of the athlete’s body, leading to breakdown, dysfunction, and pain. This is medically referred to as Davis’s law, and has many practical applications for helping athletes rehab from nagging injuries. Using an external device like an orthotic or a different shoe is a temporary solution to this issue, as it addresses symptoms (i.e., pain) but not always the underlying cause of the issue. For so long, we have looked to external support to help reduce the pain and frustration of plantar fasciitis.

If an athlete uses this solution, however, they are forever going to be dependent on that external device to alleviate the overwhelming stress on their feet. As a therapist who helps patients understand and value physical freedom, this seems like a terrible route to ponder as the primary solution.

A Prescription with No Expiration

A new wave of understanding is sweeping over health and fitness regarding the importance of foot strength and the connection between the foot and the rest of the body. I find it incredibly important that we apply these principles to athletes in pain because of how highly they need to value their physical health and longevity. The human body was designed to be robust and meet the demands of our lifestyles and perform all kinds of actions, from walking to running to jumping. Searching for external means of support as a long-term solution is, in my opinion, detrimental not only to performance but to health as well.

Searching for external means of support as a long-term solution is, in my opinion, detrimental not only to performance but to health as well, says @TomBroback. Share on X

One of the largest concerns from a physical therapist’s perspective is the chronic use of orthotics. You would never prescribe someone to use crutches for the rest of their life, or a walking boot, or an arm sling. Yet the healthcare system at large neglects to implement an expiration date for these devices. Using orthotics is a poor temporary solution for a much larger problem that is exacerbated by prolonged use and underutilization of more active treatment techniques like improving strength, mobility, balance, and coordination.

Shoes for the Sport

The nature of athletic footwear is another reason that orthotics cannot be valued as the only solution to address plantar fasciitis. It is during athletic events that we want an athlete to be at their very best—trying to cram an orthotic into a soccer cleat, a basketball shoe, or track spikes is a terrible idea. Have you ever tried this? This can restrict the freedom of movement that the 33 joints of each foot require for optimal performance.

The availability of sport-specific footwear is currently limited for athletes. While there are plenty of colors, patterns, and sizes to choose from, the functional design of many cleats and sneakers is constrained. While the barefoot, foot-shaped shoe wave has had a dramatic impact on the running community, it has yet to make a dent in sports like soccer, basketball, and football. Flip your shoe upside down and put it underneath your foot. Does it look like there is enough room for your whole foot?

Due to this limitation, it is imperative that athletes take care of their feet outside of their sport, as they cannot currently alter the footwear required by their sport. In order to prepare for the stress and demands of running, cutting, and jumping, an athlete’s foot needs to be strong, mobile, and adaptable to imposed demands. We are not going to get this through having a lazy foot that is stuck in a shoe with a clunky orthotic all day; but we can through proper strengthening, balancing, and by allowing the foot freedom to act like a foot.

It is imperative that athletes take care of their feet outside of their sport, as they cannot currently alter the footwear required by their sport, says @TomBroback. Share on X

3 Drills, 5 Minutes, Endless Results

Every coach has constant competing demands for time. While I don’t think you need to overhaul your entire practice or workout to address some of the limiting factors in foot health, I do think dedicating five minutes per day to a few of the below exercises can be a game changer. They enable athletes to stay healthy and to avoid resorting to external means of support and structure for their feet.

Lacrosse Ball Rollout

Have your athletes roll their foot on a lacrosse ball for one minute on each side. They should be able to put a good portion of their body weight into the ball to get the full effect. While this works on the mobility of the foot joints, it also gives the athletes time out of their shoes. The more an athlete completes this drill, the more they will appreciate the time to work on foot mobility. Every person appreciates the feeling of kicking their shoes off at the end of the day. Make this happen at every practice.

Toga

Coaches are great at encouraging work on the full range of motion for joints like the hip and knee, but not always with the toes. Taking time to bring each toe into full flexion and extension will allow athletes to keep this necessary motion to walk, run, jump, and perform at their best. This drill should take 20–30 seconds for each foot.

Single Leg Balance

Single leg balance is critical for athletes, as many sporting movements are completed on one foot. This can be done on a balance beam, a 2×4, or even the ground, and will allow each athlete to connect their sensory and motor receptors to their brain to improve their proprioception. In other words, athletes will understand how their body moves in space. One minute of balance work for each side. This drill can be progressed by closing the eyes, working on head turns, or playing catch with a partner.

Altogether, that is five minutes of work where an athlete can prioritize foot strength, health, balance, and freedom. This can be included in the warm-up or at home for extra work. As Eric Cressey always says, small hinges swing big doors.

Optimal Foot Performance

In his book Anatomy For Runners, sports physiologist and biomechanics expert Jay Dicharry notes that the big toe provides 85% of the primary support.³ When this relationship between the ground and the big toe is skewed, it can lead to lower extremity problems like plantar fasciitis. We can best minimize this by altering our footwear and going barefoot as often as possible at home. The last time we want our stability to be affected is during competition. Although it comprises a small portion of our day, it is vital that our feet can perform as optimally as possible during this time.

The last time we want our stability to be affected is during competition, says @TomBroback. Share on X

Dicharry also notes there is ample research showing that assigning footwear based on foot type does not have an impact on performance or injury.⁴ Are we trying to make a simple solution complex? Does it make more sense to do less with our shoes and orthotics and more with our feet? I think so. And it seems the research is pointing us in that direction. None of us have all the answers, but new research is helping us get closer to optimal health, speed, and performance.

There are still many great questions and unknowns out there when it comes to acute and chronic foot pain. Although frustrating at times, it makes sports medicine an absolutely fantastic field to be a part of. Different sports will have different demands for the role of a shoe and foot. One size won’t fit all (no pun intended). What matters most is what you are doing with your feet most of the time. Keep that in mind as we work to eliminate athlete’s foot pain in order to run faster, jump higher, and perform better.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. SafeKids Worldwide. Changing the Culture of Youth Sports Report. SafeKids.org. Published August 2014.

2. Buchanan, B.K. and Kushner, D. “Plantar Fasciitis.” In: StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2020.

3. Dicharry, Jay. Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention. Skyhorse Publishing; 2012.

4. Dicharry, Jay. Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention. Skyhorse Publishing; 2012.

Arriving a little late to the triphasic training party, I began using this methodology with my high school teams and athletes about five or six years ago. I was happy with our strength programming but am always looking for ways to improve what we are doing and enhance our performance. The time had come for a change. After researching triphasic training a little more, it seemed like it could be a good transition into tweaking our programming while ultimately increasing the power of our athletes—we were getting really strong but were moving those weights very slowly.

Triphasic seemed like a logical step to take in training to increase our power. With this post, I’m going to explain a little bit about what triphasic training is and how I apply it with my athletes.

A Little History

I started down the triphasic path by reading about it online and watching interviews with the method’s creator, Cal Dietz. It quickly became clear to me that I needed to buy Cal’s book, Triphasic Training Manual, to fully grasp this system. I’ve known Cal for a long time—I was an intern with the strength and conditioning staff at the University of Minnesota in the early ’90s. I would periodically stop by the weight room when I was back on campus and met Cal when he was a grad assistant. After he got hired full-time at the U of M and started putting his stamp on things there, it was always a learning experience for me when I would visit.

Cal is always open and excited to share what he is currently doing, and to be honest, half of what he told me went right over my head. But one thing was always clear: he spent a ton of time researching and really pushed the envelope on being cutting edge in the field of strength and conditioning. And he tested everything. Whether or not I truly understood all the science behind what he was doing, I knew this was a coach I could trust. If he said something worked, it worked.

For those who may be unfamiliar with triphasic training, the method basically incorporates specified rep tempos, focusing on a certain phase of the movement or a certain type of muscle contraction:

• Eccentric (lowering the weight)
• Isometric (stopping and pausing the weight)
• Concentric (lifting the weight)

Now, slow eccentric training and isometric workouts have been around for over a hundred years. Charles Atlas’ “Dynamic Tension” workout program, which gained popularity in the 1920s, was an isometric training program. Cal fully admits he didn’t invent this type of training, but I think he certainly deserves credit for putting these things into a usable system that can be easily applied.

Triphasic started, as Cal tells it, with two of his throwers at the University of Minnesota. These two athletes were virtually the same in every way: same age, same size, same background, and the same strength maxes. They were practically identical. One puzzling difference, however, was their performance in the throwing circle. One was a nationally ranked shot putter throwing 65’ while the other was just average in the Big Ten throwing 55’. After doing all kinds of testing with these two athletes, he concluded that the difference came down to power output; more specifically, the rate at which power could be generated.

Further study revealed that the rate and speed of the eccentric contraction had a direct correlation to the rate and speed of the concentric contraction of that rep. The faster the eccentric contraction (under control), the faster the concentric contraction. The opposite was true as well: the slower the eccentric contraction, the slower the concentric contraction. You cannot counter a slower eccentric with a faster concentric. It doesn’t work that way. Fast “up” requires fast “down.” And since Power = Work ÷ Time or Force x Velocity or Strength x Speed, weights moving at faster speeds result in higher power outputs.

The rate and speed of the eccentric contraction had a direct correlation to the rate and speed of the concentric contraction of that rep, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

So, triphasic training was basically born from the goal of developing the strength needed to decrease the total time spent performing reps (eccentric time + concentric time). That is done by focusing on bar speed while also developing strength in all three phases of a repetition:

• Lowering the weight
• Stopping and changing the weight’s direction
• Lifting the weight back up

The focus of lifting weights is commonly just that—the actual lifting of the weight, or concentric contraction. Triphasic trains all three aspects of the movement and results in greater power output and greater carryover to the field of play for the athletes.

*Note: Other goals of triphasic training are to create stress on the body and central nervous system and to train the CNS for its role in muscular power output, but those are aspects for another post.

Farmington’s Plan and Schedule

The nice thing about triphasic is that the principles can be applied to existing programs. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, or totally abandon what you are doing and start from scratch with something new. You can keep what you are doing and adjust it with triphasic. In my first programming attempt with it, I basically took one of my current off-season programs, kept all the exercises, and just started tweaking the weeks. I added the rep tempos and adjusted the intensities and volumes for each workout.

The nice thing about triphasic is that the principles can be applied to existing programs, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

A full training macrocycle is typically 3-4 months but can be extended longer. Within that macrocycle, there are 4-5 mesocycles, each lasting several weeks:

1. GPP (General Physical Preparedness)
2. Eccentric Focus
3. Isometric Focus
4. Concentric/Reactive/Peaking
5. Testing

In Farmington, we are on trimesters for our physical education classes. Here is a typical macrocycle for our weight training classes:

One nice thing about being on trimesters as a PE teacher and strength and conditioning coach is that the time frame and calendar match up very closely with our sports seasons. Off-season athletes in our strength and conditioning program follow the same schedule (and lifting workouts) as our classes. The schedules for in-season teams are close to this, but adjusted slightly based on the length of the season, post-season expectations, and competition schedule, among other things.

After buying the triphasic book and getting a handle on the science behind the process, I decided to jump right in and start programming our eccentric block. I’m a big believer in doing the same things that I ask my athletes to do. I think it helps tremendously to know what they feel during workouts because it’s much easier to coach if I’ve felt those same things myself. This was especially important when starting triphasic, so I did all the workouts a week before my athletes did them. At the same time, I poured over and re-read the eccentric chapters again until I was confident things were ready for my own lifters and that I could effectively communicate expectations and outcomes.

I think it helps tremendously to know what the athletes feel during workouts because it’s much easier to coach if I’ve felt those same things myself, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

After two weeks of the eccentric block, I did the same thing when we switched to the isometric block for the next two weeks. I performed the workouts myself a week ahead of time, made adjustments, and did a lot of re-reading of the isometric chapters in the book. We then followed that up with the concentric/reactive/peaking block and tried some new approaches, some of which worked and some of which did not. I’ll get more into that shortly.

Here are nine key takeaways from the first full run-through:

1. Slowing things down. My original plan was to use this advanced training approach only with my advanced and experienced lifters. I quickly realized that triphasic is fantastic for beginning lifters. Beginners always seem to rush things in the weight room and are in a hurry to get things done. Slow eccentrics literally slow things down, giving them plenty of time to think about how they are moving and what they are feeling. This forces them to focus and concentrate on the movement a lot more. It also provides a great opportunity to emphasize working through a full range of motion. It’s hard to cut reps short if you are lowering the weight for five or six seconds. As a result, 6-8 second eccentric squats have helped our depth and form tremendously.

2. DOMS? I was fully prepared for some terrible soreness from all the eccentric work—it didn’t happen. In fact, two weeks was so tolerable that I added a third week to our eccentric block and have kept it ever since.

3. Iso challenges. Feeling confident after the eccentric block, I was crushed by the isometrics. They were way harder and caused way more muscle soreness than what I was expecting. The same was true for my athletes. Two weeks of isos is plenty.

4. One M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i. People count too fast when they are under load, myself included. What should have been a six-second down count or pause usually ends up being closer to four seconds. Timer apps or partners counting for each other work better. To counter this now, I actually program our tempos a second or two longer than what I want. If I want a six-second eccentric, I’ll program it for eight. If I want a three-second iso pause, I’ll program four or five seconds. That way if they count a little fast, they end up getting what I want. If they go the full prescribed length of time, it’s bonus time under tension for them.

5. Ease of use. Slow eccentrics are pretty straightforward. They can also be used with Olympic lifts but in a limited fashion.

6. Room for creativity. There are more options for isometric pauses and they can be implemented in numerous ways.

7. Concentric speed. I need to constantly be preaching about concentric bar speed and moving as fast as possible.

8. Removing constraints. My athletes were super excited to get back to full-speed reps with the concentric/reactive/peaking block after finishing the eccentric and isometric blocks, and the weights were flying after putting it all together. Everyone is always amazed at how easy things feel at that point with weights they had previously considered heavy.

9. Simplify the labels. Cal’s four-digit tempo labeling system was reduced to three-digits. The four numbers in the system’s sequence represent time in seconds for each segment of a repetition:

• For example: 1:0:1:1 = Eccentric time: Isometric pause time: Concentric time: Time between reps. So, 1:0:1:1 would be: lower for one second, no pause, up in one second, one-second pause at the top, then start next rep.

I decided to drop the fourth number (pause at the top between reps), so 1:0:1:1 became 1:0:1 for us. I felt that starting out with the extra number was not needed and seemed overly confusing early on, giving my athletes too many things to think about. Taking it out simplified things greatly. If we eventually got to cluster sets, I could add that back in.

Eccentric Block

I’ve adjusted our eccentric block slightly over time. We now incorporate slow eccentrics with all lifts (or as many as possible). Our workouts consist of three primary lifts of the day that we always start with (because we have three stations to lift at) and I call these our Big Three. They’re a squat movement, an Olympic lift or variation or deadlift variation, and an upper-body push or pull. I initially started doing slow eccentrics with one or two of the Big Three. It was difficult and did apply more stress because of the extended time under tension, but it wasn’t overly stressful and certainly wasn’t too much for my lifters to handle. So, the next time through the entire training cycle, I decided to apply the slow eccentric to as many lifts as possible in our eccentric block: all of the Big Three lifts, as well as our auxiliary lifts if possible (3-4 movements per workout).

Below is an example of what our three-week eccentric block looks like and how we progress over that period. In a typical three-day training week, Mondays are usually our medium day, Wednesdays are the week’s heavy day, and Fridays are a higher volume day with lighter weights. I apply that approach for this training block as well, but I always start with the first day of the full block as very light. Day 1 of a new training block is always a learning experience, so I ease my lifters into that first day and then build from there.

Day 1 of a new training block is always a learning experience, so I ease my lifters into that first day and then build from there, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

Key points for slow eccentrics:

• The concentric contraction on every rep must be performed as fast as possible. I cannot stress this enough. “Fast up” is a common coaching cue that I constantly use during this block. Now, is the weight actually going to be moving fast? Probably not, due to fatigue, but intent is the key. You have to be making a conscious effort to try and move the weight as fast as you possibly can.
• A VBT device could be of use to help with concentric intent, but note that the velocities will be slower at the prescribed intensities because of the fatigue caused by the slow eccentric speed and time under tension.
• Slow eccentrics can be used with Olympic lifts, lowering slowly to the prescribed starting position for the initial pull. With hang cleans for example: stop above knee, below knee, or mid-shin. Eccentric times will be shortened for these because of the smaller range of motion.
• Do not use more than 85% of your one-rep max and use a spotter. Light weights can still feel heavy after several very long reps and sets.
• Be consistent and disciplined with counting the tempos. It can be easy to end up counting fast when under a heavy load and stress.

Isometric Block

I was feeling really good with how the eccentric block went and finished up. My athletes were also feeling really good, but also extremely happy to be finished with it and ready to move on to the isometric block. In my personal test run with the isometric block, I found it to be more taxing and resulted in more muscle soreness. My athletes did as well, so extending this block from two to three weeks was not going to happen. Just like our approach to the eccentric block, I try to include isometric pauses with as many lifts as possible for each workout.

In my personal test run with the isometric block, I found it to be more taxing and resulted in more muscle soreness, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

There are several purposes for the isometric holds or pauses. One is to develop strength specifically at the point in the lift where the weight changes direction, or the point where eccentric switches to concentric. If you can improve the strength at that spot, the lifter should theoretically improve their ability to transition into that concentric phase quickly and more powerfully, increasing the power output of that contraction.

Another purpose is to remove the stretch reflex. Starting the concentric contraction from a dead stop makes the lift a little more difficult, similar to doing a box squat, in that the lifter does not get the aid of the stretch reflex from the muscles involved. More effort is then required to start the weight moving, which will increase strength and power development at that point where the weight is paused when switching back to normal speed reps.

The third (and most overlooked) purpose is using isometric pauses to train deceleration. Bar speed is critical during this isometric block. The eccentric contraction should be done as fast as possible, and then the lifter should be slamming on the brakes to stop the motion as quickly as possible. Lowering the weight slowly and slowly going into a pause defeats the whole purpose of using isometrics for triphasic training. It has to be done fast and the weight has to be stopped fast. That ability to quickly decelerate has a huge carryover to athletic performance in terms of improving agility and change of direction capabilities. I find myself using the cue “Down fast and stop fast” constantly during this block.

Key points for isometric pauses:

• Speed is critical when performing isometric pauses: eccentric speed, stopping speed, concentric speed. Everything about a rep with isometric pauses has to be as fast as possible (except the pause).
• A VBT device can be very useful in reps with isometric pauses, mainly for tracking eccentric speed. Concentric speed will be slower than normal because of fatigue from the pauses and stretch reflex being removed. Intent is key here, just as it is with slow eccentric reps.
• Isometric pauses can be utilized multiple ways with Olympic lifts. They can be used to hold in the hang position (above knee, below knee, mid-shin) prior to the initial pull. They can also be used after the catch, holding at the bottom of the front squat or overhead squat position.
• Multiple pauses in the range of motion can be used to train deceleration and stopping ability in one repetition. For example: three two-second pauses at one-third of the way down, two-thirds of the way down, and at the bottom, then fast back up.
• Exerting force against an immovable object can be a different but effective way to include isometric pauses. Rack pulls, rack squats, and rack presses, where you are pressing or pulling an unloaded barbell against the spotting arms with as much force as possible, are examples of this.
• Do not use more than 85% of your one-rep max and use a spotter.
• As with eccentrics, consistent and disciplined counting is very important. Don’t count too fast because of the stress of holding the load in one position with no movement.

Concentric/Peaking Block

The first week of this block is what I call our “Off The Leash” week. No more restrictions, no pauses, nothing slow. Full speed reps. My athletes are always excited to get to this point, and the weights are flying. The discipline of following the program and rep tempos all comes together in this block and the payoffs are huge. Lifters are always shocked at how easy the weights feel when we get to this point, and this is when they really believe in the process. Buy-in from that point on is very easy.

The discipline of following the program and rep tempos all comes together in the peaking block and the payoffs are huge, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

In the Triphasic Training Manual, the concentric/reactive/peaking phase is actually two separate training blocks. Low reps with heavy weights follow the isometric block. Then, the true peaking for sport phase incorporates light weights with maximum speeds, along with some advanced training methods like French contrast, oscillatory reps, and others. With our physical education classes being on trimesters and off-season athletes being on a similar schedule, we only have time to move to a couple heavy weight weeks before finishing up. We do not include the really fast rep weeks, just because we don’t have enough time. If I had another 4 weeks, I would include that final peaking phase. With some of my in-season teams though, we do get to that at the end of the season—especially in the winter, because that’s a longer sports season for us in Minnesota compared to fall and spring.

In the book, the French contrast method is discussed extensively for peaking. This is something that seems to be very complicated and is something that I would only use with my very advanced lifters. Just doing contrast sets with two exercises has been very difficult for my athletes to do correctly in the past. Doing that with four very distinct and different movements seems almost impossible for us. Group sizes and training spaces combine to create limitations for our ability to do French contrast.

I think most coaches have their own established process for peaking, so I won’t get into the details of that in this post. One key point is to avoid going to muscular failure at any point. Below are the recommended sets and reps for various intensity levels. Quality reps are the number one goal during this block. Going to failure basically destroys the quality of everything that occurs after that point.

Going to failure basically destroys the quality of everything that occurs after that point, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

Final Thoughts

Over my coaching career, I’ve seen numerous trends come and go when it comes to programming and training methodology. I have changed my own programming over the years as well. Some were big changes, but mostly small things here and there like everyone else. Implementing triphasic training principles, though, has been the biggest game-changer for my athletes since I started in the field in the early ‘90s. Not only have our strength gains been tremendous, but the speeds at which the weights are moving have increased dramatically. Moving really heavy weights at really slow speeds is not very beneficial for athletes. We were getting very good at that. Triphasic has solved that problem for us and has resulted in powerful athletes that are now having more success in their sports as a result.

Implementing triphasic training principles … has been the biggest game-changer for my athletes since I started in the field, says @FarmingtonPower. Share on X

Final Recommendations:

• You have to sell your athletes on trusting the process. Triphasic takes patience and discipline, but if done correctly, the lifter will reap the benefits at the end when everything comes together.
• Every rep has to be performed concentrically as fast as possible throughout the entire macrocycle. Intent is key.
• During the isometric block, eccentric lowering has to be done as fast as possible and stopping the weight has to be done as fast as possible. Slow speeds during these reps will not help achieve the desired outcomes.
• Do not train to muscular failure. Heavy weights during the training blocks will be difficult at times but should be doable. It’s even more important during the concentric/peaking block. High quality, fast reps are the goal. Training to failure will sabotage everything after that.
• Triphasic is fantastic for both beginning lifters as well as advanced. Everyone can use it and will benefit from doing so.
• There really are no right or wrong ways to apply the triphasic training principles. They can be very flexible, and coaches can apply them in ways that work best for them and their situations. Continuous tweaking and modifying can always occur. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
• We use the full triphasic macrocycle four times in the training year for each sport season/trimester and in the summer. Both in-season and off-season athletes use it.

Hopefully this is enough information to at least get you started with using the triphasic training method. It really is a low risk/high reward change in weight room programming that can be easily applied. I highly recommend trying out a full macrocycle to see how it works. After that, I’m confident it will become part of your regular lifting approach.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Jumps often get the short end of the stick in a high school track and field program, as many schools are short-staffed and lack a coach who specifically teaches the horizontal jumps. In situations where there are inexperienced coaches in these positions, they may not yet know how to teach or create momentum for the athletes in the jumps program.

My goal here is to teach high school track and field coaches how to create your “flight crew” and optimize success for the athlete and team. Our track and field coaches at Holy Trinity High School like to use a testing system in the beginning of winter season to assess the potential for athletes to jump. For the purposes of this article, I’ll focus primarily on the long jump.

Where to Begin

Our first task as coaches is to figure out which of our athletes would be best at the long jump. We do this by implementing our jump test in the beginning of winter season. We also ask if there are any athletes interested in long jump once we have completed our jump assessment with the entire team, which I will discuss in detail.

Jump Testing/Assessment:

• Broad jump
• Single-leg jumps
• Bounding
• Vertical jump

Have the athletes perform these plyometric movements after a proper warm-up and have the entire team be a part of this, not just your prospective jumpers—as the coach, you will then have a better visual of your athletes and their capabilities. You will be able to distinguish if an athlete has hops, if they are springy and bouncy (like a pogo stick), if they are capable of jumping on one leg, and if they have coordination and rhythm. Sometimes you think your short sprinters will be good jumpers, but this may not be the case. Some of those sprinters will bypass the board and run right through it…every time.

Although long jump used to be an event where sprinters could have some diversification from the sprints, athletes now specialize in the long jump and can pursue collegiate careers in the event. Once you have your jumpers chosen, the next step is to get them on the runway and figure out steps from the board. Regarding youth/high school athletes, you want to start with minimal steps in their approach, simply because they lack the speed, spring, and power. The younger athletes should start to jump from 8 feet before the board, and then as they continue to progress have them move to 12 feet off the board.

I believe the most challenging part about starting with a youth jumper is figuring out which leg to jump off of (takeoff leg). I have an ambidextrous jumper who feels most confident jumping off of his left leg; however, he starts the approach with the right foot back. Usually that means the athlete will jump off of the right leg, but oddly enough he jumps off the left leg. He hit a personal record recently of 18.6 feet—my favorite saying is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Have the athlete face away from you and lightly push them, noticing which foot they step forward with to stop themselves from falling. That’s the leg they feel most comfortable jumping off of. Share on X

As human beings, we have our strong leg and our coordinated leg. What I do is have the athlete face away from me, and then I lightly push them, noticing which foot they step forward with to stop themselves from falling. This is usually the leg they will feel most comfortable jumping off of.

Once we figure that out, we like to start by having the athlete run backward from the board (8 or 12 feet, depending on athletic capabilities). With my novice jumpers, I count six steps off of their takeoff leg. If the athlete jumps off of their right leg, then the right leg starts back. Once the right leg swings through, count 1 and so on (12 steps total). Once that right leg strikes on the sixth step, that is where you place a marker. My more experienced jumpers vary from 8-12 steps off of their jumping leg.

Next, have the athletes run from the marker back to the board to make sure they are somewhat close to the board. The approach is the most important part for a jumper—once they take off, there is not much you can do to enhance the jump while they are in flight. You will notice with novice long jumpers the approach may be wonky; this is due to speed, timing, rhythm, and coordination. Try not to move the marker too much, especially in the beginning, as they must develop their speed and technique. If they do not have speed approaching the board, they will not go far in terms of distance.

Projectile motion is very important:

• Where they place their foot on the board (shin angle).
• Weight distribution.
• Velocity.
• Height.

Explain this to the athlete in a clear and simple way. I like to cue run fast, hit the board, jump and aim for the trees.

Allow the athletes to test out which leg they feel most natural and strongest jumping off. Figure this out in the beginning and then nip it in the bud so they don’t get confused. From here, it is all about repetition—the approach will change once they can apply more speed and force down the runway. Once this happens and they are consistent with hitting the board, you can increase their steps. For example, if I have my novice jumper doing six steps off of the right foot, next I increase that to eight steps off of the right foot, gaining more speed and control, and with that an increase in flight and jumping distance.

Once you have found their measurements, mark that off with colorful tape and initial it with their names so the jumper knows exactly where to start (always carry a measurement tool and tape for your athletes). Know the measurement so that when the athlete is in competition, all they have to do is place a marker down at the start of the approach. Use colorful and bright tape, as it makes it fun for the athletes, and they get to have a decision about something they enjoy.

Where to Begin (Part 2)

Actually, before all of the above, you first need to understand safety while coaching and what to teach your athletes.

• Always rake the sand pit after a jumper. The last thing anyone needs is an injury due to a divot in the sand.
• When raking the pit, sand should be level and slightly wet to avoid dust. (If outdoors, this is never an issue.)
• The pit should be deep enough—no less than 15 inches to avoid jarring when landing.
• The edges of the pit should be well designed to avoid injury, but also so that sand doesn’t scatter out of the pit.

A long jump pit should be designed by an open area or grass and away from any walls, trees, fences, or other obstacles. Brooms and rakes should always be available and well kept, but these tools should always be away from the pit and never lying around. Lastly, no jump is ever made while there is another athlete jumping, and the runway is ALWAYS clear and swept (Fundamentals of Track and Field, p. 132).

Training Model for Long Jumpers

• Jumps (2-3x/week, this may include meet days)
• Sprint training (2-3x/week)
• Plyometrics (1x/week)
• Lift (1-2x/week)

Our jumpers also train in the short sprints and in our lifting program, as they usually compete in a short sprint event as well. Surprise—the acceleration and max velocity of a sprint translates to the long jump. Acceleration work and basic strength are always the focus in the beginning of the season: from there, we build, and it will all translate onto the track and the runway. This goes for any athlete, really, and our training philosophy is you can’t have a powerful weak person. It just doesn’t work. So, it is very important to keep your jumpers fast, powerful, and strong.

Our training philosophy is ‘you can’t have a powerful weak person.’ It just doesn’t work. So, it is very important to keep your jumpers fast, powerful, and strong, says @bpfitcoaching. Share on X

In terms of skill and technical work, we usually have our jumpers practicing long jump 2-3 times per week. I have noticed over the years with high school jumpers that a lack of strength will inhibit vertical forces applied to the jump. The cueing I use for that is be a pogo stick; also, helping the athletes understand to be patient for take-off, let the board come to you. Remember, there are a lot of contributing variables that high school coaches must accommodate for—weather, pandemic, weight room availability, missed practice days, planned days off, meet schedules, and more—so pick what will be most beneficial for the jumper.

Create buy-in and really focus on the athlete and what they need in order to be successful. It is the same process as with my throwers: Establish a culture where the athletes enjoy what they do as an event. They need to know that you, as the coach, are invested in them and are there to optimize their performance. We call our jumpers the Flight Crew, and they absolutely love it.

Breaking Down Technique

Long jumpers need to work on their technique for the approach, as well as the takeoff.

1. The Approach

High school jumpers commonly begin their approach with either a rolling technique or from a crouching position. Both styles work, so it just depends on the athlete and their experience with long jump.

The stronger jumpers typically start in a crouching position. Could this be because you often have sprinters doing long jump, and this mimics the start of a sprint? Possibly. For the rolling/rocking start, the jumper extends and rocks back and into the approach to gain momentum.

Don’t force the jumper into a position where it ruins their approach—let them play around with it in the beginning and then have them stick with one. It’s all about routine and repetition, so that when the jumper is in competition, the approach doesn’t negatively affect their performance.

2. Take-Off and In-Flight

There are two different techniques that happen during flight with youth long jumpers:

• The hang technique.
• The hitch-kick technique.

When I first started teaching the long jump, I don’t even touch on the topic of what to do during flight because it takes away from the athlete’s run-up. Again, everything built up starts on the ground, and what happens in flight is due to the approach—there is not much you can do once in flight.

Let’s start with the hang technique: Once takeoff happens, the lead leg is extended and brought backward to join the takeoff leg, both extended. The arms then circle downward, backward, and then upward and forward—the arms are momentarily above the head (hence the “hang” position). The arm action assists in driving the athlete forward, beyond where the feet make contact with the sand (Fundamentals of Track and Field, p. 132). The hang technique is usually what you see with novice and youth long jumpers. (See figure 6 below.)

You are likely to see the hitch-kick technique with more experienced high school long jumpers. After takeoff, the athlete assumes a momentary stride position in flight. The leading leg is rotated backward into its extended position; both legs are then flexed and brought forward for landing. The arms rotate forward and then backward, balancing the action of the legs and thrusting the athlete forward in the landing. This creates a cycling action (Fundamentals of Track and Field, p. 133).

Drills for Your Flight Crew

Below are a few drills that I believe help in the development of a high school long jumper: acceleration/short sprints, bounding, hopping, broad jump, adding cones or hurdles at the board to create patience in takeoff, video analysis, and repetition.

Cones at the Board

Use cones at the board to help the athlete focus on patience for takeoff. The athlete starts at their normal marker, which you have established based on their speed. They plant the whole foot, with toe slightly ahead of knees and hips, setting up the pelvis in an optimal position for takeoff.

Straight-Leg Bounding

With straight-leg bounding, focus on the eccentric movement—quick and strike back down to the ground. This is good for a warm-up prior to jumps to get the hamstrings prepared and decrease injury risk. It also helps with coordination and rhythm. Be sure that athletes keep proper posture alignment.

Acceleration

Acceleration is exactly what the jumper must achieve in the beginning of the approach. Use wicket drills with falling or two-point starts. These help build their max speed.

Hurdle Jumps to Gain Height in Flight 

Like the cones at the board, hurdle jumps help create patience with takeoff. They apply the vertical focus of the jump. Look for full extension at the hip joint of the takeoff leg.

Creating the Conditions for Flight

In order to develop a solid flight crew, create the environment, do your research, and study the event. I wanted to make it easier for coaches to have access to easy descriptions and examples of how to optimize performance within specific field events. These were the training methods and principles I have applied, and I have seen positive outcomes as a result.

Personally, a goal of mine was to create an environment for our jumpers and throwers where they could excel and be proud to be a part of the field events. I believe they get the back end of the stick, especially within the high school track and field setting, and I wanted to create buy-in and set a positive and motivating environment so the kids WANT to be at practice and compete.

A goal of mine was to create an environment for our jumpers and throwers where they could excel and be proud to be a part of the field events, says @bpfitcoaching. Share on X

Who knows, maybe you will inspire one of your athletes to pursue a collegiate career! I was a javelin thrower, and sometimes when you’re a thrower or jumper, you can feel like an outcast on the team—always separated. This is why we have created The Flight Crew, The Throws Crew, and Athlete of the Week to commend their hard work and dedication.

Do your diligence as a coach and, most importantly, KNOW your athletes and what makes them tick. I have some jumpers who need more coaching than others—pay attention to what your athletes need, keep it simple, and optimize their performance.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Reference

Carr, Gerry. Fundamentals of Track and Field. Human Kinetics. Second Edition. 1999.

An athlete having difficulty pulling under the bar is a common problem that every coach has seen at one point or another. Sometimes there is a mental barrier, and the athlete is simply afraid to drop under the bar. But I believe this fear mostly stems from a physical limitation—in technique, mobility, or stability—that hasn’t been addressed. Bad habits can develop over time as a way to compensate for a physical limitation or as a way to overcome a misunderstanding or lack of development in the technique. In either case, if this issue goes unaddressed, it can lead to general frustration and plateaus, along with compromising the overall lift/capacity that the athlete can perform.

When an athlete is afraid to drop under the bar, I believe this fear mostly stems from a physical limitation—in technique, mobility, or stability—that hasn’t been addressed, says @nicc__marie. Share on X

The snatch and clean are taught as three phases: first pull, second pull, and third pull. In the third pull of the lift, the athlete actively pulls themselves under the bar and into the receiving or catch position. The athlete meets the bar at its highest point relative to the weight on the bar and the amount of explosiveness generated by the athlete in the second pull. The athlete’s job is to move under the bar with speed and intention. It is important for the athlete to understand and remain connected with the barbell. If the athlete is unsure of how high they are driving the bar upward, then they will inevitably mistime their pull into the catch position.

The height of the receiving position varies between the snatch and the clean. In the snatch, we want the athlete to find their bottom position, whether it be in a power snatch or full snatch, in order to lock their arms and maintain a stable overhead position. The bar will land over top of the athlete’s center of gravity, creating very little barbell dissonance for the athlete as they accelerate into the bottom position.

In the clean, the catch position of the barbell is forward of the athlete’s center of gravity in the front rack position. Although the same rules apply as the snatch, if the athlete races down into the bottom position before meeting the bar, then it will crash on top of them and potentially “spit them out.” In other words, when the athlete tries to find the catch position of the lift, the bar hits them so hard on their front rack that it bounces forward off of them and shoots the athlete back. Check out this clip of Phil Sabatini for reference.

In order to begin improving this phase of the lift, a coach must make sure the athlete can safely get into the bottom position. Athletes should begin with the overhead squat for the snatch and the front squat for the clean. If an athlete is incapable of demonstrating these movements proficiently, then we know there is a mobility or stability issue somewhere causing the limitation. However, in this article I want to focus on the technique side of pulling under the bar and how to improve this phase.

Video 1. Proper balance is a key to the snatch and safely getting into the bottom of the lift.

Let’s say an athlete is mobile enough to get into the bottom position and stable enough to receive the bar both overhead and in the front rack. What next? Lack of explosiveness in the drive or second pull phase of the lift will limit the height of the barbell and prevent the athlete from having a chance to get under the bar. An aggressive pull is necessary to maintain a close bar path and allow for a quick change in direction from the athlete. The speed of an athlete, or lack thereof, is the biggest factor that limits the athlete’s ability to quickly change direction and transition under the bar as it moves upward. But without the other two components, the athlete won’t even be able to consider the speed at which they pull under the bar.

Select drills for your athletes that will address their weakest point and keep in mind that may also correct other faults along the way, says @nicc__marie. Share on X

It is important to note that different drills can help fix more than one fault. As we begin to look at a variety of drills in the next few sections, remember that weightlifting is cause and effect. Select drills for your athletes that will address their weakest point and keep in mind that may also correct other faults along the way.  As a coach, if you are trying to isolate one particular fault, always provide a distinct focus or intention behind the drill.

Explosiveness

The second pull is the phase of the lift that demands an explosive drive of the bar, generated by the athlete. This becomes an issue for the athlete because a heavier barbell already limits its ascension. In this scenario, speed to pull under the bar won’t be a factor because there is simply not enough room for the athlete to get under the bar. There are two things to consider when this is a factor:

1. Is the athlete cutting their pull too short and beginning the transition from first pull to second pull too soon?
2. Are they losing their connection into the floor through their feet?

To address the issue of pulling too early, athletes can focus pulls, but it is vital that you express to the athlete the technique and purpose of the pulls as a drill to improve the lifts in order to get the best ROI for the movement. Pulls are a great exercise to overload the athlete and work on that explosiveness at heavier weights, along with preventing an early arm bend. If your athlete tends to begin that first to second pull transition too early, then more specific positional drills such as a snatch pull (BKN) (below the knee) or clean pull (AKN) (above the knee) are good ways to reinforce the timing of when to begin shifting the torso upright.

Video 2. Using snatch and clean pulls can help prevent early arm bend and establish proper weight distribution for executing the full versions of each lift.

An early arm bend will interrupt the athlete’s explosiveness because it will take the force out of the legs and into the arms too early. This is why I emphasize keeping the arms long in the pull. For more information on this, check out my other article, “To Bend or Not to Bend.”

Weight distribution is a huge factor in Olympic weightlifting in terms of bar path, position, and force production. If an athlete’s feet leave the floor too soon, it will affect their power and force production. Two of Newton’s laws of motion apply directly to this idea. The second law, Force = Mass x Acceleration explains that the weight and speed on the bar will determine force production. If the bar’s trajectory begins to shift horizontally, that will slow everything down, which will take away from the total amount of force. The third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, tells us that if our heels or toes come off the floor, then we won’t be able to generate as much force into the floor. In turn, we won’t receive as much force back to help move the bar.

Block work is a great way to reinforce connection into the floor and explosiveness in the drive. When an athlete works through their weaker positional variations, they can rely on downward momentum into the position to generate force. But block work forces the athlete to move the barbell from a dead stop. They have to feel the setup of the position and adjust their body to generate force.

Block work is a great way to reinforce connection into the floor and explosiveness in the drive… Block work forces the athlete to move the barbell from a dead stop, says @nicc__marie. Share on X

The height of the blocks will determine the amount of push required by the athlete to drive the body and bar upward through the triple extension position. Where focusing on better weight distribution means focusing on the knees or low blocks, reinforcing strong drive demands implies the higher the better. In a high block clean, the bar is already placed in the power position.

Most times, athletes feel as if they have no power to generate to move the barbell. If left uncoached, we begin to see a lot of torso movement to drive the bar. Intention is key: The athlete should feel their feet active into the floor and initiate a push down through the feet to drive the bar. In either case, block work helps to correct the first and second pulls of the lift in order to create a more optimal chance to master the third pull and successfully complete the lift.

Aggressiveness

Block work not only improves explosiveness, but it gives the athlete a stronger sense of positions and the power needed to drive the bar upward. Then the athlete can begin to use their arms. The arms shouldn’t bend until after the athlete hits triple extension. If the arms bend too early, well that’s a whole other topic for another time.

Once the elbows are ready to bend, they must be aggressive and synchronous to the body beginning to move under the bar. One of the best analogies I’ve ever heard was told to me by Coach Brenden Mcdaniel. He said, “You know how you bend your arms to pull yourself down a waterslide as fast as you can…this is like that except vertically.” In that moment, the timing and intention of the pull under the bar became so much clearer.  It’s why the cue elbows up, body down has such a major benefit for athletes who are kinesthetic learners.

Videos 3 & 4. Bar path measurements for the clean pull and snatch pull via Vmaxpro.

Pull-unders are one of my top drills to emphasize the aggressiveness of the upper body coupled with the speed of pulling yourself down. The heavier the bar gets in this drill, the more crucial the timing becomes. I want them to feel the weight of the bar in their hands to emphasize the intensity needed to pull themselves down under the bar. The harder they pull, the higher the bar goes.

Remember, the intention still focuses on pulling the body down as the arms pull up. It is the opposition that we are working to emphasize in order for the athlete to better understand where the bar is during the turnover. The intentional aggressiveness of the movement will help the athlete become more cognizant of where the barbell is in space; then they can begin to focus on the timing and directional speed change.

Speed/Timing

Speed is demanded of the athlete as soon as the bar passes the athlete’s knees on the way up, and again as they begin to pull themselves down. Athletes will often fixate on the position and bar path as the bar moves upward and never increase their speed when it is time to pull down. The speed and ability to change direction and move under the bar is vital as the weights get heavier.

If an athlete spends too much time in triple extension, then it immediately affects the timing of when an athlete makes contact and drives the bar upward to when they begin pulling down. If the athlete doesn’t aggressively drive the elbows upward, they give themselves less time to move under the bar. Each of those two points mentioned earlier allows for the athlete to pull their hips down quickly.

Video 5. Performing “No feet” drills for the clean and snatch to improve speed and timing.

“No feet” drills are a great way to correct all of these issues, but the biggest thing I emphasize with “no feet” is the speed with which you have to rip down. When an athlete stops thinking about having to shuffle their feet out and down into the catch position, they can concentrate on driving the bar and not cutting the pull short. They will also be forced to drop down quickly because they aren’t getting the extra height provided from the ankles extended.

With “no feet” cleans and “no feet” snatches, the athlete should begin their setup with their feet already in their catch position. As they begin to pull down, they only have to focus on their hips coming down into their bottom position and their feet are already set in place. Fewer variables allows for better focus on the speed down into the bottom position.

Snatch balances are another great way to reinforce the speed and timing into the bottom position. The goal is to drive the bar upward as the body simultaneously moves down. Reinforcing this timing and the stability of the overhead position, especially at heavier weights than the snatch can be performed, builds more strength in the bottom position.

The more comfortable an athlete becomes at pulling themselves down and meeting the bar, the more the timing will improve, says @nicc__marie. Share on X

The more comfortable an athlete becomes at pulling themselves down and meeting the bar, the more the timing will improve. Consistency and intention at lighter weights will build a strong carryover to heavier lifts. With all things being equal, the height of the bar is always going to depend on the amount of weight on the bar and the ability of the athlete to move that weight.

An athlete having a strong understanding of where the bar is at all times and the intensity at which they handle the barbell will lead the way to proper timing, aggression, and speed of the third pull. Just like anything in weightlifting, there is never one answer; rather, a variety of ways to assess and address a situation that can lead to improvement in other areas. It is the job of the coach to understand where the athlete is having trouble and provide them with the right strategies to fix it.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Before training their athletes, the first thing a performance coach should do is engage in a detailed needs analysis. Look at the individual, their position, their sport, their playing style, and more. If you are still running cookie-cutter programs, then stop. Yes, I know it’s hard if you have 40 athletes to one coach, but you can still find ways to add individualized tweaks here and there.

Regardless of the planning methodology you choose, you still need to decide on your “big rocks.” These can be tangible or intangible qualities and skills. Here are some common “big rocks” in successful programs:

• Sprinting
• Jumping
• Medicine ball throws
• Zone 2 (aerobic work)
• General strength training

A good way to view this “big rocks” theory is to visualize an empty jar. To fill it, you have rocks, gravel, and sand. You could add all the sand first, then the gravel, and finish with the rocks—but you quickly can see that this is not the most optimal way to fill the jar. If you begin by putting your rocks in first, then the gravel, and then the sand, you will see how the cracks start getting filled in. Likewise, once you have your training mainstays, then you can start filling in the gaps.

Having constants in your program is also a great opportunity to allow athletes to ‘self-audit.’ Share on X

Having constants in your program is also a great opportunity to allow athletes to “self-audit.” Bondarchuk used to have athletes pick a handful of their favorite movements and then they would primarily train those. His throwers could then gauge effectiveness by the daily throwing they did—if he had them continually changing up exercises, it would be very difficult to pinpoint what worked and what didn’t.

Sure, elite athletes can be fast adapters, but you need time to stabilize and actualize the adaptations. Find the backbones of your program and use them as checkpoints to revisit and evaluate training. Boo Schexnayder has also talked about this concept in the form of “home base training”: If an exercise is important to the training program, it should exist in some form or fashion throughout the year.

This leads me to what I believe should be the backbones of every team sport athlete’s training program: tempo and chin-ups. Depending on the training block, coaches may get away from these to drive specific adaptations. After these periods, I would return back to your home base training and stabilize any residual effects.

Tempo Training

Tempo training traditionally has been done as a submaximal sprint effort. In sports that require high speeds and dynamic movement, coaches tend to only focus on the speed side of training. It is easy to fall into the speed trap because it is such an important quality for successful athletes to have. The old adage “speed kills” will live on.

My perspective has changed drastically on the subject. I started talking with other coaches and consuming any information on the aerobic system that I could. My main takeaway: Don’t sleep on the aerobic system for team sport athletes. Without a well-built aerobic base, it won’t matter how fast your athletes are. They won’t be able to repeat the same maximal efforts throughout the entire competition.

Without a well-built aerobic base, it won’t matter how fast your athletes are. They won’t be able to repeat the same maximal efforts throughout the entire competition. Share on X

Not to mention the growing research into acute-to-chronic ratios in player loading. Without accumulation of work to match what they experience in their sport, the incidence of injury begins to rise. Common sense will tell you that the preseason is the time when the most soft-tissue, non-contact injuries occur. Why build a big engine on a frame that can’t handle it?

I could pose the question: Why does a track athlete need an aerobic base? They might only do a few max efforts and have very long rest periods in between. Charlie Francis and many other track coaches still trained athletes in a polarized program. On one end, athletes trained in the alactic environment. If you increase top speed, you also increase the speed of all submaximal efforts below that.

To contrast that, you use slow and smooth stuff. I’m sure Ben Johnson did some form of tempo, and it wasn’t all max effort squats and bench press to complement his high-speed track work. Tempo training might be the best bang for your buck—you develop the oxidative capacities of relevant musculature while having the opportunity to zero in on the technical aspects of running.

Talking with one of my mentors, it makes sense that tempo comes in two forms: energy system development and recovery. You could also say intensive and extensive, but I find that terminology tends to confuse more than it helps.

Energy system development is exactly what it sounds like. I want to train the body both centrally and peripherally to better utilize oxygen, take in nutrients, and shuttle out accumulated metabolites. This type of training widens the pyramid of performance. Theoretically, not only do you have increased capacity for repeated bouts, but you can also recover from them more quickly. In contests that last several hours, this is crucial.

Tempo training in this fashion can be in a variety of movements. Examples are linear tempo runs, curvilinear, submaximal change of direction, medicine ball tempo, strength aerobic resistance training, etc. Tempo can be done on grass, turf, a bike, battle ropes, or a rower, in a pool, or using strength training equipment.

For team sport athletes, I reccomend performing tempo runs on grass. Doing your best to adhere to dynamic correspondence is key in training programs. Ultimately, the goal is to train just below your lactate threshold (~2.00 mmol). The benefit of tempo is that it substitutes for any long, steady-state cardio. You get better quality runs at faster speeds.

The benefit of tempo is that it substitutes for any long, steady-state cardio. You get better quality runs at fast speeds. Share on X

Below are two ways to use tempo runs for energy system development:

1. 2 x 10 x 100 yards at 55%-60% of best time (add in BW exercises or MB work in between reps)
2. Submaximal position work (wide receivers)

• Jog route tree x 20s/40s (progress to 40s/20s)

The more I look at tempo, the less I would have athletes go much beyond 65% into intensive work. It is hard to know exactly what lactate levels are during training (unless you are having them take samples.) That’s why a good dialogue with athletes is necessary. If the goal is to stay high-low and not interfere with my high output days, then it doesn’t make sense to constantly train there. As you progress closer to the season, one of your “high days” can mimic intensive tempo but focus more on lactic power and capacity.

Yardages are another focus point. Derek Hansen wrote an article years ago that has good recommendations for tempo volumes. I used to think they were a bit high, but looking back now, I’d agree that if you can get up to those weekly numbers, you are in a good spot.

The second form of tempo training is a primer for recovery. This style of training can improve circulatory mechanisms and reset muscle tone following competition or heavy resistance training. If you consistently trained tempo all year, then it could act as a “flush” to help the athlete return to a homeostatic balance. The intensity would fall on the lower end, around 50% of their best time.

RPE (rate of perceived exertion) can be used also—I like to see athletes in the 5-6 range on a scale of 1-10. The talk test is a simple way to gauge the intensity: You should be able to talk while performing movements.

I like the zone 2 parameters that Peter Attia has talked about in many of his podcasts. Zone 2 is an endurance athlete training scale popularized in cycling. Zone 2 is basically training at the highest outputs possible while staying below your lactate threshold. Adaptations occur mainly in the type I fibers where mitochondrial density is usually higher.

At any given time, athletes should perform three sessions at 60 minutes or four sessions at 45 minutes (at least three hours per week). Zone 2 tempo is steady state in nature. If using heart rate (HR), a quick way to determine working HR is the MAF 180 formula. Basically, it is 180 minus your age. You can adjust based on limitations or other lifestyle factors (+/-10 beats).

Whether to drive adaptation or to recover between contests, tempo is a great way to audit the readiness of athletes. Say you work in the NFL or at a lower division collegiate program. In these situations, chances are you won’t get to see your athletes for any extended period of time. Tempo would be an effective way to have a “progressing” conditioning test working in the background. If you know that an athlete needs to complete X amount of work to be ready, then you can direct training approaches to help bridge the gap. You can also pulse tempo (use roughly a third of off-season running volumes) throughout the in-season period to drive recovery from performances.

Whether to drive adaptation or to recover between contests, tempo is a great way to audit the readiness of athletes. Share on X

I could write an entire article about how alactic efforts are impacted by improvements in the aerobic system, specifically in the capacity to repeat high intensity outputs. In a true high-low model of training, finding ways to be as polarized as possible would allow you to both “raise the floor” and “push the ceiling.”

The Chin-Up

Athletes require certain technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological attributes in order to have successful outcomes. In team sports, the bulk of work done is through cyclical and acyclical movements. So, you might ask yourself, why then are chin-ups a backbone in a program? The answer lies in relative strength and mass specific forces. (Disclaimer: Obviously, positions where athletes tend to weigh more and require higher strength levels will not always fall under this category. Remember, context is key.)

Good coaching is trial and error. What got me to point A won’t necessarily be what gets me to point B. To break through to something, you must break from something else. Experienced coaches have noticed that their faster athletes are typically also solid at performing chin-ups. You can get into the claim that a chin-up trains shoulder extension similarly to that of the arm action, but not here. It’s all about mass specific force.

Another argument is that if being good at chin-ups correlates to faster running speeds, then gymnasts would be excellent 100m sprinters. This is not the case. Don’t mistake correlation with causation. The scope of this article is to identify the backbones of training. These are things we can use to audit our programs for future course correction.

Back to the chin-up. It makes sense that athletes with lighter body weights could theoretically do more chin-ups; but without the requisite strength, they could also be poor at them. Looking further, fast sprinting requires you to produce high levels of force in decreasing increments of time relative to your body mass. In track and field sprinters, maintaining a lean body weight is beneficial since extra mass will likely slow you down.

Well-known coaches like Barry Ross and Ryan Flaherty recognized this in their practices. In Ross’s case, he trained exercises that would stimulate the nervous system while minimizing tissue damage and hypertrophy. A deadlift that eliminates the eccentric portion of the lift is a popular example of this style of training.

Bodyweight training is another way to accomplish this, whether it is from plyometrics or calisthenics. The goal is to produce as much force as possible at the lightest body weight to play your sport. Aside from the musculature involved during a chin-up, it is a good choice to assess relative upper body strength. If your athlete can do them, do them. I believe it’s worth the investment to train some variation of chin-ups at all times of the year. Handling your body weight is a must for any athlete. Chin-up for reps or weighted chins are a simple, cost-effective way to build athlete standards throughout your training system.

I believe it’s worth the investment to train some variation of chin-ups at all times of the year. Handling your body weight is a must for any athlete. Share on X

Let’s look at different ways you can progress chin-ups based on your athlete population. Regardless of the sport, if your athlete can’t do a dead hang chin-up, then take a step back. Below is a progression that you can use to get that first chin-up:

1. Inverted BW rows (work to 15-20 reps in each category and add in sets)

• Legs bent
• Legs straight
• Legs elevated
• Weighted

2. Chin-up iso, top position (work up to 90 seconds)

• Work passive hang also (2 minutes from bar)

3. Eccentric chin-up (work up to 45 seconds of work)

• 8 x 5 second lower and use box/bench to reset

4. Chin-up

• The Fighter Pullup Program

5. Weighted chin-up

The above progression is adaptable for females and males at any age level. I typically won’t program more than 50 reps of chin-ups per session. Start adding in extra weight once body weight becomes easy. There will be some outliers who need special programming, such as larger athletes and longer-limbed athletes.

For American football linemen, if they can’t perform them, I usually piece together a few exercises: passive hang, close grip lat pulldown (underhand grip), and incline TRX BW row are my main choices. The goal is still to get chin-ups, so sometimes I might have them loop a band on the rack to add assistance to the reps.

For long-limbed athletes like basketball players, I’ve successfully done the above progression. I added in some wide grip lat pulldowns to target the lats and help build the supportive musculature. Based on what you see as a coach, you can manipulate the exercise choice and sequencing to fit your goals.

The big coaching points with the chin-up are:

1. Extend the arms all the way out at the bottom of each rep.
2. Pull the elbows down and back on the concentric action.

Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

The backbone of your training program could be any KPI you want. At the end of the day, you need to know your population. Tempo training and chin-ups are two choices that can span all athlete qualifications. Get really good at them, then work to fill in the gaps elsewhere.

The backbone of your training program could be any KPI you want. At the end of the day, you need to know your population. Share on X

Expanding this thought out further, tempos and chin-ups are low-risk investments that have a good chance of yielding positive returns. Nassim Taleb, a financial risk analyst, uses a model called “The Barbell Strategy.” On one end of the bar, you have low-risk investments that are in a way safe. On the other end, you have the high-risk investments that have much greater downsides. This small allocation of funds allows for aggressive tactics to be used in hopes for a very high upside.

Taleb talks about a general distribution of 85% low-risk to 15% high-risk (similar to the distribution of the Pareto Principle). Tempos and chin-ups are exercises with little downside and moderate-high upside. Your true speed work and maximal effort lifts are across the spectrum and should be used intelligently.

The profession has gone away from simplicity. As coaches, we are support staff. What you do will not win games (though it might lose some). Accept that, drop your ego, and start searching for the “best” answers. The greatest thing you can do is to have strong opinions that are loosely held. Always be willing to change and adapt while you continue to learn.

The greatest thing you can do is to have strong opinions that are loosely held. Always be willing to change and adapt while you continue to learn. Share on X

I am the first one to speak out against stating anything in absolutes. Often, it is smart to disregard the content and further investigate the context. The human body is complex. There are too many variables at play for anyone to say they know for sure where their athletes will be even a day from now. I would love to implement some things I see out there on social media, but 30 minutes with beat-up athletes changes a lot. Most days it turns into running around with an index card, going from plan B to plan C to plan D—and having those backbone exercises to fall back on keeps things in place.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

With the football season wrapped-up, prospects, whether they have aspirations of a college scholarship or hearing their name called on draft night, are turning their attention to speed. It is no secret that one of the best ways to improve your stock as a prospect is by improving your time in the 40-yard dash. While most coaches know a good time when they see one, many struggle to actually make their athletes faster.

I was in that same boat, but I wanted more. I wanted ways to analyze the data from my athletes and make better training decisions from that data. After taking a deep dive into the times of NFL draftees over the last five years, I have found a few trends that can hopefully help guide you on your quest for improved speed. After reading, you will have a better understanding of the intricacies of this highly valued sprint and be better able to help your athletes achieve their speed goals.

Before we begin, understand that the times being discussed are solely from the NFL Scouting Combine. All reps were run in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis using Zybek timing systems. The times we see published publicly are started by hand with gates at 10, 20, and 40 yards. Zybek does compile FAT data that is not shared with the public, but they did explain on Twitter that: “If the coach is at the 6 yard line, the average [difference between human vs. FAT] is 0.085 [seconds]; however, there is a +/- 0.05 seconds or larger (1 Standard [Deviation]) in the best case.”

The Three-Second Rule

In the last five Combines, 376 draftees ran sub-4.6 seconds; 365 (97%) ran the “flying 30” portion in 3.00 seconds or less. For the high school athletes I coach, we use the 30-yard fly as our primary max velocity metric because I love how seamlessly it ties in with our 40-yard dash training. For most high school speedsters, running a 30-yard fly in three seconds or less is not a daunting task, but when you reduce their run-in, the task becomes more difficult and aligns with the acceleration needed to master the 40-yard dash.

It is important to know the difference between ‘how fast can you get?’ and ‘how fast can you get fast?’, says @CoachStokowski. Share on X

It is important to know the difference between “how fast can you get?” and “how fast can you get fast?” Once you understand the speed strengths and weaknesses of your athletes, you can narrow your training focus to address those needs. Cameron Josse comes to mind when I think of using pragmatic exercise selection to address needs on the force-velocity curve.

Big Fellas Need a Good Start

One of my favorite metrics to play around with is pounds-per-inch: a way of analyzing relative size and the speed needed for success at that size. Athletes at 4.0 pounds-per-inch or larger dominate in the trenches of professional football. We are talking about body sizes ranging (on the small end) from 72 inches, 293 pounds (4.07 pounds-per-inch) to 79 inches, 317 pounds (4.01 pounds-per-inch).

One-hundred sixty-nine athletes 4.0 pounds-per-inch or larger have been drafted since 2016. Twenty-two of them (13%) were able to crack five seconds in the 40-yard dash. When looking at the splits from those attempts, I notice a distinct difference between the speed profiles of professional linemen and high school skill players. Running similar 40-yard dash times, the linemen excelled in the acceleration portion (0-20 yards), while the novice high schoolers fared better on the back end (20-40 yards).

Taking a closer look at those 22 linemen, their times ranged from 4.75-4.99. On average, their front 20 yards clocked in at 2.85, while their back 20 came in at 2.06. None of those 169 draftees, other than Caleb Benenoch (his published splits point to a possible error at the second gate), were able to break 2.00 seconds from 20-40 yards. On the flip side, I have recorded 119 40s between 4.75 and 4.99 from my high school athletes, obviously much smaller clientele. Their average front/back split is 2.86/2.02, which does not seem like much of a difference, but 38 (32%) of those ran sub-2.00 on the back 20 yards.

Two takeaways:

1. Once a body gets to a certain size, there is not as much velocity potential. In other words, linemen at the Combine do not have the maximum velocity ability to outrun a slow start. They MUST get through 20 yards fast (relatively) to finish fast.
2. When a high schooler legitimately lowers their time by a significant amount, the area of most improvement happens early in the dash. Does an improved maximum velocity help? Absolutely! But never forget that around one-third of your time happens over one-fourth of the distance.

Apples, Oranges, and Doughnuts

When discussing the 40-yard dash, it is important to remember that the gold standard, the NFL Scouting Combine, is more concerned with consistency than accuracy. We know this because both FAT and hand-started times are recorded, but the hand-started times are the ones shared with the public.

The goal of recreating exact testing variables is a fool’s errand, but there is value in attempting to find a level of consistency and accuracy in your testing protocol. Surface, shoes, weather, and a myriad of other nuances make the way you time the 40-yard dash unique. I believe we should all try to create a testing protocol that provides an in-depth look at our athletes’ abilities and gives us information on where our time would be best spent in their training. In classroom terms, I believe we should be using the 40-yard dash as a formative assessment as well as a summative one.

I know the way I time (apples) is not the way the NFL does (oranges), but both do a good job of providing feedback. Simply telling an athlete that they ran “4.4” (doughnuts) is not true (99% of the time) and does not provide them with the information needed to improve their speed. Sure, it makes them feel good, but it does not make them better. By providing split times within the 40-yard dash, we can learn far more about our athletes’ strengths and weaknesses.

By providing split times within the 40-yard dash, we can learn far more about our athletes’ strengths and weaknesses, says @CoachStokowski. Share on X

I use Freelap to time the 40-yard dash, on a rubberized track wearing spikes. We use the touchpad as a consistent way to tether our athletes to a moment of near-zero forward momentum. We place split transmitters (cones) at 10 yards + 80 centimeters, 20 yards + 80 centimeters, 30 yards + 80 centimeters, and 40 yards + 80 centimeters. (For those unfamiliar with Freelap, 80 centimeters accounts for the radius of the electromagnetic field produced by the transmitters.) By setting up the system the way I have explained, we acquire 10 pieces of data from one single attempt: 0-10 yards, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 0-20, 10-30, 20-40, 0-30, 10-40, and 0-40.

In my three years timing athletes using Freelap, I have had two athletes break 4.70 seconds. Coincidentally, those are the only two skill players who have been offered any form of NCAA Division I football scholarship. With that knowledge, we know running in the 4.6s, using our metric, has value.

Our favorite two segments to analyze are 0-20 and 10-40, and the formula for success is simple: 2.70 seconds from 0-20 yards and 3.00 seconds from 10-40 yards. If the athlete can find just one-hundredth of a second, they break 4.70.

Two seasons ago, I had two athletes run 4.73 on the same day. Athlete A ran 2.71 from 0-20 and 3.16 from 0-40. Athlete B ran 2.80 from 0-20 and 2.99 from 10-40. Identical outcomes with significantly different speed profiles! Athlete A needed maximum velocity intervention while Athlete B had significant room to improve on his acceleration.

Need for Speed

Using mph as an easy-to-understand metric for young athletes is all the rage. I am on that bandwagon, and I wanted to know what kind of speeds we are seeing from the elite athletes at the NFLSC.

Here is a breakdown of the “flying 20-yard” portion of the 40-yard dash. We are looking at average time, pounds-per-inch, and mph of draftees since 2016. Keep in mind that the Vmax numbers are faster than I will show, since the athletes, for the most part, are faster at yard 40 than yard 21. Also, be careful comparing turf times with limited run-in to track times with unlimited run-in.

• 2 (3 total); average: 4.26 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 2.74; flying 20: 1.76 = 23.24 mph
• 3 (43 total); average: 4.36 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 2.77; flying 20: 1.80 = 22.73 mph
• 4 (159 total); average: 4.45 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 2.87; flying 20: 1.85 = 22.11 mph
• 5 (171 total); average: 4.54 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 2.97; flying 20: 1.89 = 21.65 mph
• 6 (131 total); average: 4.64 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 3.13; flying 20: 1.94 = 21.09 mph
• 7 (73 total); average: 4.74 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 3.29; flying 20: 1.98 = 20.66 mph
• 8 (68 total); average: 4.84 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 3.44; flying 20: 2.03 = 20.15 mph
• 9 (45 total); average: 4.94 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 3.72; flying 20: 2.07 = 19.76 mph
• 0 (51 total); average: 5.04 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 3.98; flying 20: 2.12 = 19.30 mph
• 1 (52 total); average: 5.15 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 4.11; flying 20: 2.16 = 18.94 mph
• 2 (54 total); average: 5.24 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 4.08; flying 20: 2.21 = 18.51 mph
• 3 (30 total); average: 5.34 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 4.13; flying 20: 2.26 = 18.10 mph
• 4 (6 total); average: 5.44 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 4.19; flying 20: 2.33 = 17.56 mph
• 5 (7 total); average: 5.55 seconds; pounds-per-inch: 4.18; flying 20: 2.37 = 17.26 mph

In conclusion, I hope that this information will help you better understand the data on your athletes, and, in turn, you will be able to provide them with better feedback and training. While not every athlete we coach will reach their speed goals, you will see improvements in team speed if you keep it a focus of your programming. The 40-yard dash is a puzzle, but one that reaps massive rewards when mastered. I hope this resource helps you better understand the pieces of that puzzle!

If you would like to talk shop or have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

I had a eureka moment this season during one film scouting session when our coaches were talking about how to beat a team and what we needed to do to win the game. Aside from the words hard work, tough, force, effort, emotion, attitude, and selfless, they may as well have been speaking Spanish. All the strategizing about ball screens, types of coverages, special team plays, etc., was beyond my job description. When it comes to whether we will win or lose a game, I am at the full mercy of the coaching staff and the players.

Guess what? I’m absolutely fine with that. After all, if I wanted to coach a sport and decipher and outwit an opponent tactically, I would have been a sport coach. But I choose to work with athletes from a holistic athletic performance standpoint and I love it; I love the long-term athletic development (LTAD) of collegiate sports where I get four years to work with an athlete at a crucial learning period in their young adult life.

On game day it is about the team and the athletes going out there and performing to the best of their abilities. The strength coach’s and support staff members’ roles are to add value to their team on this day and let the players play. This is their time to shine and take the spotlight, not yours.

On game day it is about the team and the athletes going out there and performing to the best of their ability, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

Different Games, Different Roles

Different sports come with different game day nuisances and attitudes. As a former footballer (soccer, I am English after all) and someone that has worked with tennis, lacrosse, and basketball from a primary coaching position, I have seen these all play out very differently. It will be no surprise to hear that when my tennis players were warming up on court and when I spoke to them before their matches, I wasn’t in their faces hyping them up and telling them to annihilate their opponents.

But, for men’s lacrosse—you guessed it—they approached their warm-up with a slightly different mojo. You must understand the sport you are working with and embody that culture during the game/match, and if you work with multiple sports, you have to be a chameleon and blend into that environment.

Coming from a soccer background, it took me a little while to get used to basketball game days, specifically the nuisance of timeouts—both media timeouts and 30-second timeouts. In soccer, I was used to 45-minute halves that were split by one large half time, which was when the athletes were given tactical information by the coaches only. It was the bench’s job to contest refereeing decisions and celebrate big tackles, saves, and goals. Basketball is a much faster end-to-end game in which the tactical instruction is given after every possession, both offensive and defensive, by both players and coaches.

If you work with multiple sports, you have to be a chameleon and blend into that environment, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

In soccer if you are down 3-0 it is unlikely (but not impossible) that you’ll draw or win the game. In basketball you can be down by over 20 points and come back to win it. The emotional ebb and flow is so unique that you never quite know when the game is won! So it’s important to take your sport into consideration, because a strength and conditioning coach’s role can vary greatly in terms of adding value to a team during the game.

Social media for strength coaches during football season—yes, specifically football season—is full of coaches taking jabs at one another regarding “juiced up” coaching from the sideline, get-back coaches, and for wearing tight polos or doing bicep curls on the sideline before the game. Twitter is an amusement park full of opinions and judgements regarding what coaches should and shouldn’t do with their teams on game day. That isn’t the reason for this article though, sorry if you hoped for some added entertainment there. We all have our own coaching philosophy and as long as you are authentic with that and remain who you present yourself as on game day, then so be it.

Righto, the game day experience itself—what is it that I’d like to specifically share with you today? I’d like to discuss ways we can add value, broken down into four main areas:

1. Nutrition—Present at team meals; oversight of menus, vitamin hand-outs, post-game nutrition, and weigh-ins.
2. Physical Preparation—Team stretch a few hours before game-time; individual player stretching/balance/activation/strength work in the hours before game; assisting athletic trainer with soft tissue work in the hours before game; game-time warm-up and cool down (if applicable).
3. Culture—Reinforce head coach’s message in warm-ups, timeouts, and in-game; be a great teammate on the sideline; correct negative body language; hold subs accountable for being engaged in the game.
4. Technology/Data—Oversee the use of tracking system(s); assist in sport coach’s data/stat collection in-game.

Nutrition

At the mid-major level, oftentimes there is no sports nutritionist on staff and therefore the nutritional responsibilities are given to the strength and conditioning coach. In my opinion, this isn’t a big issue. To have a nutritionist would be great, a qualified nutritionist would hopefully improve the quality of nutritional provision and education to the athletes and take this load off a strength coach’s duties.

However, as a generalist I expect strength coaches to have great nutritional knowledge and be able to wear many hats and provide excellent nutritional support to the teams they are working with. The reality in our profession is that there are hundreds more strength coaches than there are sport nutritionists within collegiate sports, so the following should be included in the strength coach’s game day duties.

• Find best restaurants or catering options and produce pre- and post-game menus.
• Provide pre-game and half time snacks in locker room.
• Provide vitamins to players (including electrolytes) during pre-game meals.
• Assist athletic trainer with filling up water bottles and handing to players in timeouts/half time.
• Provide electrolytes to select players in closing stages of game if you feel like the player needs an energy boost or if player has asked for some directly.

My first job stateside as a strength and conditioning coach was with a Division II school in Alabama. I remember providing game day nutrition advice by suggesting that both the men’s and women’s soccer teams buy chocolate milk for the players to drink immediately post-game before they static stretch as a team. It would get them 8-10 grams of protein and some carbs (yes, from sugar!) before they shared a pizza. Now, looking back, are either of those choices ideal post-game meals? No. However with the budget we had this was the best we could do.

I’m fortunate to be at a school now where our resources are excellent, and we are able to order from nice restaurants. Oftentimes we even allow meal add-ons for our high-minute players, as well as a protein and carbohydrate shake from the locker room. My key point here is no matter what level you are at, it is our job to ensure our athletes are prepared for their games. Preparation starts with the recovery from practices and games, so pay attention to their nutrition and do whatever you can to help them recover faster.

No matter what level you are at, it is our job to ensure our athletes are prepared for their game, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

Physical Preparation

I used to think travelling with a team just to warm them up for a game was a bit excessive; I thought it was a waste of money for the department to have me eat all the food and take up space on the bus and in the hotel just for 8-12 minutes of dynamic warm-up excellence. However, after a few games, I began to see that there’s a next level to being there. Now I am so pro-travel that I am disappointed when I hear of strength coaches that never go on the road with their teams.

To be on the bench is to feel the energy and emotion of the game, to see how refs have missed calls (this happens more when you lose), to see how physical a game is, to see how you battle adversity as a collective unit of staff and players and come away with a result. Watching a game on the TV shows only a glimmer of what actually happened in the game—the build up at the hotel, the coach’s pre-game/half time/full time messages, and how the players talk amongst themselves in the locker room and on the court/field are all missed.

All of these are crucial experiences for a strength coach when training a team and looking to improve them holistically as individuals and athletes. To not see them play only gives you a picture of them as a person in a weight room for a few hours a week.

It is our role to warm the team up on game days and oversee the technical side of the warm-up by making sure the flow is correct and that their load is appropriately managed during this period with their sport coaches. After seeing how they act, it is important to gear your warmups to fit your players. The great thing about basketball warm-ups is that each team’s routine is different. Indeed, I have yet to see one that mirrors our model and can say with certainty that every program approaches it differently. Select players like to get “stretched out” in the 90-minute period before tip; I assist the athletic trainer with this, as well as some fascial abrasion work that we call “scraping.”

This has been a gamechanger for us. Scraping the high-minute athletes the night before and day of a game has really helped keep them fresh. We have also found it to reduce soreness, improve flexibility, and the players love it. Don’t be put off by it being a manual therapy skill/tool! As strength coaches, I believe we should be learning practical skills and adding value to our teams with these modalities. It is no different than having a sport massage qualification, or implementing reflexive performance reset and fascial stretch therapy. Expand your knowledge and skill set, add some strings to your bow, and dive deeper into some therapy techniques.

Expand your knowledge and skill set, add some strings to your bow, and dive deeper into some therapy techniques, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

In the 30 minutes before we meet as a team, I like to be in the training room with the AT while the players get taped because some athletes ask for balance or strength work during this time. During the day, some hours before tip, I lead a development lift for my low-minute athletes, mainly underclassmen and walk-ons, to train in the weight room with me.

For basketball, the biggest uninterrupted training block of the year is in-season. This has to be taken advantage of to develop our athletes physically. Whether on the road or at home, development training for those low-minute athletes is key. This is always done before pre-game activities start—once we are on court it is all focus on the game and no distractions are needed.

Culture

Part of our job as assistants to the head coach is as a culture enforcer. Gameday certainly requires that all squad members be great teammates, be engaged in the game, and all strive to win. The main way I enforce my coach’s message is by being present during film and walk-through, whereby the key points of our game are addressed. I then echo the key point to victory after the dynamic warm-up, before the players split off into position groups and start their technical warm-up. An example of this would be where my coach has talked about the Three E’s and their importance to our success for that game: energy, emotion, and excitement.

I also feel it’s important for strength coaches to be around the team more than the staff as much as possible during the whole game day experience. Such times might include:

• In the training room during their taping period pre-game.
• In the locker room pre-game when the clock is at 10 minutes before tip.
• During half time.
• Immediately post-game.

In these moments, the staff will be together talking about the game plan, adjustments that need to be made, and conclusions from the game before these are presented to the team. For me, it’s important to have my finger on the pulse of the athletes themselves, to see and hear who is speaking up in moments of adversity, to see if they are locked in or seemingly absent minded, to hear their thoughts on why we are winning/losing.

I will often text my head coach my observations after the game of who spoke up and who remained silent. It is in the heat of battle, not in the weight room or during practice, that leaders really stand out. I feel this insight is imperative for coaches to know and for me to see so I can be aware of who is trying to lead in those important moments.

It is in the heat of battle, not in the weight room or during practice, that leaders really stand out, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

Data/Technology

In basketball, the strength coach is often asked to help out with game day stat collection (deflection count for example). I can’t speak to other sports, but this is certainly something that can be asked of those working in basketball. The addition of tracking systems in recent years has added to a strength coach’s workload during the game.

This is the first season I have had access to a tracking system (we use Kinexon) and the start and stop of various phases certainly keeps me busy during the game. The information we as a program have been able to gather and analyze by using this system has been very helpful when planning practices and load monitoring (optimal practice loads in build-up to games). It has also been great when gauging how hard the players worked during a game and what loads are appropriate for return to play athletes to make sure they are well conditioned before they return to full team practice.

Conclusion

Being a strength coach is an interesting profession: we work tirelessly to ensure that our coaches have a healthy and high-performing, fully available squad to choose from every game, and then we rely on our coaches and players to be great at what they do to win us the game. To claim wins and losses as a strength coach is a slippery slope—we are a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to a team’s success/failure.

Let’s support the team, stay out of the spotlight, let the players play, and let the focus be on them, not us, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

We spend our working life preparing our athletes to be their best physically and mentally for this day, yet we have no direct impact on whether we win or lose the game. Yes, I know, warm-ups are important, being a hype man is important, ensuring our athletes are well-fueled and mentally in the right place to perform is important; but the game is won or lost by the coaches and players.

I wouldn’t have a clue how to draw up an out-of-bounds play with three seconds left to win us the game. I rely on my coaches and players in that situation for success as they rely on us as strength and conditioning coaches to develop our athletes and to be a great support to the team on game day. Oftentimes we are labelled as support staff; this can rub people the wrong way as we all want to be seen as equal to our assistant coaches. However, on game day I feel this title fits us perfectly. Let’s support the team, stay out of the spotlight, let the players play, and let the focus be on them, not us.

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